The Neighbor
by OddVisions
Summary: Set in/around the Do Ya Thing house. The band is on a break and staying at one of their old haunts from before the Humanz release. 2D discovers his neighbor works in the adult industry as a popular (and pregnant) cinematographer. Through her, 2D comes to terms with himself. OC X 2D Friendship only. Hints of 2D X Noodle. Rated for heavy/naughty adult language/actions/imagery.
1. Too Loud

**Author's Disclaimer: James Hewlett & Damon Albarn own the Gorillaz. All other mentioned artists, songs, devices and items belong to their respective owners as well. **

2D awoke to the sudden and sharp shriek of anger billowing from below the thin planks of wood beneath his dark futon. He placed his feet onto the coolness of the wooden floor and peered through a drilled out hole nearby. He could not see what had caused the fury of his band-mate Murdoc downstairs: The hole was too small to see anything except for a speck of linoleum on the floor of the kitchen directly below his room. Not that he would've been able to see much anyway. His vision was a blur & he could hear the ringing sound that usually accompanied his morning migraine.

The blue-haired frontman itched his naked belly & did his best to ignore his tightening underwear as he thought back to the DVD Russell had "lent" him last night. In reality, 2D grabbed it off the end table while his large friend rested atop the roof as per usual.

2D's groggy memory was filled with that of exotic dark women working as scientists to experiment on one another. The video had ended with the women winning a Nobel Prize in science for new discoveries regarding the sensitivities of women's skin. 2D enjoyed both the play & story. It was not often that the plot of a porno ended on such a pleasantly positive note.

The DVD itself lay on the green end table by his bed. _The Nobel Pair_ by S.S Ripp glared in white letters under the sunlight of the window. 2D made a mental note to himself to watch it again before returning it to the band's drummer. He also made a mental note to do so by putting the DVD back where he found it; and not telling Russel that he'd taken it in the first place.

The ringing noise in his mind began combating the shrill shrieks on the first floor. 2D wobbled to his bathroom & retrieved a nearly empty bottle of Advil A.M from the medicine cabinet. They had never helped before but 2D was persistent in taking two every few hours. He'd long since grabbed a clear glass from the kitchen to pour faucet water into for the purposes of not dry-swallowing the pills. He'd done that the first time & nearly chocked.

He briefly considered pissing into the clogged toilet but thought better of it. A wad of clean shirts & pants lay atop the commode. 2D pulled out a red shirt with the word Gorillaz spray-painted on it in white & a pair of blue skinny jeans that were more like a pair of skinny capris on his form. The frontman made quick work of dressing himself & heading downstairs to check on the situation at hand.

Murdoc, the band's bassist, sat on a rocking chair set up near the white folding table in the kitchen. He was a green-skinned man with greasy black hair & had chosen to dress himself, again, in his striped T-shirt paired with his own blue jeans. In his clenched fist was a white mug with steaming coffee sloshing about as he shouted obscenities towards one of the kitchen walls.

The bassist gave up on his stream of insults when he noticed 2D's arrival. He took one good look at the singer & grumbled something about putting in a noise complaint before silencing himself with a gulp of coffee. 2D could feel vibrations on the floor. He heard muffled music pouring into the kitchen from the nearby home next to theirs. 2D was not a smart man but he rightly assumed the noise was the cause of Murdoc's chagrin.

"…Face-Ache. Pop over next door & tell our lovely new neighbors to kindly TURN OFF THEIR FUCKING MUSIC!"

Murdoc started off as calmly as possible before shouting the last part directly towards the offending wall. A long tirade of obscenities soon followed. 2D didn't stop to listen as he walked out of the kitchen and & towards the already open front door.

A young Asian woman sat on the porch while quietly playing _Monster Hunter 4_ on her pink 3DS. She still sported her silky pink pajamas that shined under the morning sun. Unlike Murdoc, she did not seem at all perturbed by the noise coming from next door. 2D rested his hand on Noodle and whispered a soft morning greeting to her. They hadn't spoken much since the night of the "Strobelite" shoot. Both agreed what happened that night had been a mistake, but 2D knew he & his female band-mate would not enjoy the same closeness they did before.

The coolness of the morning air brought him out of his thought. He remembered why he'd even left his him for the open air in the first place. He quickly made the short trip over to the nearby neighbor's town-home. The front door was chipped yet had a fresh coat of black paint still dripping onto the porch. The doorbell next to it was nothing more than a broken mess of wired tied together by a rubber-band.

Normally, a person would leave at this point and maybe try again once the paint was dry. The frontman-singer & all around resident pretty boy took it upon himself to instead jiggle the door handle. He was in no hurry to return to Murdoc with bad news. The door immediately swung outwards! The sudden movement shocked 2D & his face met black paint and chipped wood before his butt greeted the porch's greasy pavement.

The tan face of a petite woman peeked around the door to stare at the fallen singer. He tired brown eyes scrutinized his now dirty appearance.

"Are you the pizza guy I sent for?"

She asked while staring at his bare feet. She bit her thin pink lip while glaring angrily at him. 2D felt a twinge of worry for the unknown pizza man if he were to show up later. The singer quickly shook his head.

"Excuse me miss? I'm your neighbor. Umm. Stu. I'm Stu."

He was flummoxed upon not being immediately recognized. Despite the paint covering him, 2D was certain his band was a household name. The girl shifted away from the door. Beneath her face and long shaggy black hair was a cut-up Offspring T-shirt that now served as a midriff. 2D's eyes wandered lower to see the beginning of a pregnant belly stretching out a pair of thick grey sweat pants.

"If you're not my pizza guy, then get off my porch."

She mentioned quickly to him in a sharp & impatient tone.

"M-MUSIC! Too loud. Turn it down?"

2D blurted out in the squeaking voice reminiscent of when he'd gone through puberty. That seemed so long ago now. The unfaltering nerve he may have once had died down once his eyes met with the glared of the petite pregnant woman. If she had shown any signs of relenting her piercing gaze, then it had been abstruse to the singer.

Nevertheless, she held out her hand for him & helped him to his feet. In the only second she took to blink, she introduced herself as Siren. It sounded fake but 2D wasn't here to judge. 2D's mind was still reeling though as she pulled him inside her home and muttered something about a towel; nothing, in that moment, was passing her lips about lowering the music.

Cee Lo Green's "Fuck You" greeted 2D's ears in earnest unwelcome shouts as he shot the door behind him. His bare feet felt good on the linoleum of the foyer. His senses of vision, what he could manage in his migraine-induced blur, were immediately put into question as he noticed the lack of walls between rooms in the house. In fact, the only divider was a wooden floor that once indicated the beginning &end of a hallway.

Siren quickly disappeared up the stairs situated in the corner of the back wall. 2D found himself confused & alone as he took time to survey his unusual surrounding. To his left was an old fashioned kitchenette that seemed to have hopped out of a 1950's commercial. To his right was a modern living room with a posh beige corner sofa & a small brown coffee table.

Atop the coffee table was a bulky black camera with a thick black strap laying atop it. 2D knew expensive when he saw it & this camera definitely fit the bill. He felt a strong urge tug him towards the camera. Similar to how a child has that thrill of knowledge when they are about to do something sneaky. He soon found his long slender fingers wrapping around the still warm device.

The music died away just as two beautifully recognizable women came down the stairs & found their own places on the couch. Both of them sported satin nightgowns beneath pink chiffon robes & loose bracelets that loose gold bracelets that dangled from their ebony wrists. If it were not for the braided hair of one woman; 2D would've considered the beautiful pair twins. 2D, however, did recognize these women in an instant. They were the lesbian couple from _Nobel Pair._

The woman with the long unbraided hair looked over to him with curious green eyes that matched the confused expression of her sofa-partner. 2D, for his own part, could not do more than fumble with the camera as he tried to fathom what was happening. His morning's fanciful thoughts about their _Nobel Pair_ antics had not yet let up on their physical effect upon his hardening genitalia.

His world suddenly went black as he felt something fall upon his head. His stone grip on the camera became loose as something brushed atop his fingers. The camera dropped in his confusion and plopped into a pair of waiting tan hands. As he lifted the towel from his face as though lifting a veil, a vision of the living room once again came into his sight. However, this time Siren was now in the picture. She was carefully placing the camera around her thin neck with great care.

Siren motioned for one of the women to come to her & she did so in silent compliance. The two made quick work of some communication between just each other in whispered words. The woman next to Siren then rolled her eyes before stampeding out the front door as 2D continued to watch in confusion.

"Alexa, no shoot today. Jimmy quit and I need to look over the penile shots to choose a new pizza guy."

Siren exclaimed in nonchalance to the other woman still resting her ebony legs & back on the cushion of the sofa. Unlike her partner, she let out a sigh in seeming-relief. The young woman mumbled something about that being better for Siren's baby while she twirled one of the braids in her hair between her thumb and forefinger. 2D had monetarily forgotten about his unusual neighbor's baby bump. He was still trying his best to process the events transpiring right in front of him.

"Well, I will only be a little less busy. I need to get some rest soon since the agency is sending over a guy in character-dress for a test-shot on the abdomen. They're worried it might be uneven so they want to see if he can work with camera angles. "

Siren told the woman firstly.

"Can you turn the radio back on when you get dressed upstairs please? Not too loud though. I have new neighbors apparently."

Siren motioned over to 2D & rolled her eyes. The woman had begun to survey him after that and began to survey him with a lecherous smirk upon her face as she imprinted his image into her mind from his messy hair to his dirty toes. 2D had no doubt in his mind that she definitely liked what she was seeing.

He found himself imagined the woman snaking her hands around his waist & nibbling the lobe of his ear. In reality, she was stripping down to her black lacy lingerie right in front of him. I t was not long before she made her way upstairs & out of 2D's fantasy. 2D heard a chuckle come from Siren's lips. In his fantasizing about the porn star, he had unzipped his pants and began fondling himself in front of the two women without having noticed it himself. He was too used to seeing her on the DVD playing in the safe privacy of his own room. Siren was chuckling and looking directly at his deeply semen-stained briefs.

"You can clean it up with the towel your clutching. Keep it. Consider that towel and Alexa's little show your house warming present."

Siren managed to say before curling up on to the sofa & closing her eyes. 2D felt both embarrassed & perplexed. He had not expected such a mundane response to his actions from her. Siren fell asleep. 2D took note of the baggy black circles under his new neighbor's eyes. His own black sockets once again leered over Siren's swollen belly. A soft smile tugged at his lips just as a muffled MC Hammer's "Too Legit" struck his ear at an agreeable volume.


	2. Voicemail

**A/N: I'm sorry I took so long! I had this all written down and then college got really hectic! Then I lost the notebook I wrote down the chapters in! Thankfully, I've found it. Here is the 2nd chapter for all you lovely readers. Please Enjoy. Oh! And I don't own the Gorillaz. They belong to Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett. Ever notice their names kind of remind you of owls? Or is that just me?**

2D stared into his reflection in some scotch he was about to down. His stash of prescription bottles lay empty beside him. He hadn't usually gotten calls from his ex-girlfriends in the past. In the blur of his world, however, he could make out a missed call notification on his smartphone. Right under that, a notification for a new voicemail from her same number. He had not yet bothered to listen to what she had to say; be it for fear or anger.

Paula cracker had burrowed into his heart and rotted the burden of distrust into his soul soon after. The last 2D saw of her was when she'd fled from Kong Studios in pure terror of Russel's wrath. He had heard from Russel about her and Murdoc's tryst in the bathroom stall. Murdoc's freshly re-broken nose and Russel's bloody fist were all the proof 2D needed of the truth of the story. Since then, there hadn't been a day that went by where he didn't think of Paula Cracker.

Sometimes he was angry at her and wanted nothing but the worst for her. Sometimes, he blamed himself for maybe not giving her enough attention back then. Sometimes he blamed himself for not being successful as a lover in ways apparently his bandmate could be. Most of the time, he just blamed Murdoc. However, during neither those times nor all of those many days of his life had she ever ordained to try and call him.

2D wanted to talk to someone about it. But he knew that he couldn't tell Russel. He could've told Noodle if they were still on speaking terms, but they weren't. Talking to Murdoc about it wasn't even a thought in his mind. 2D knew better than to talk to Murdoc about anything. His only option was to gulp down another mouthful of scotch.

The singer let out a sigh then looked away from the cup in his hand. He was careful to balance his elbow on his knee while he held the glass. What should he do? On the hook on his door, the still-stained towel 2D received from Siren lay dormant. Asking her advice suddenly crossed his mind. 2D thought back to her pregnant belly. Maybe she was in a similar situation? It had been 2D's unfortunate experience that men often left women why they become pregnant; 2D himself had done this numerous times as well. It wasn't like he cut and ran. He would have one-night stands and wouldn't find out until much later that the women had borne him sons and daughters. He felt a little pang of guilt knowing he probably wasn't exactly father of the year to them.

Nevertheless, 2D was quick to pocket his phone and make the short-trek to his neighbor's home. It was only when she opened the door of her home to him that he realized he was only in his boxers. Siren eyed him from head to toe and did little more than smirk at the singer before swinging the door further open for him. 2D felt the heat of embarrassment singe his cheeks as he walked in behind her and shut the door. He'd came over in in the dark of 1am in his boxers to her home. He didn't want to think of what wrong idea Siren might be getting about this.

His worry ceased when she asked 2D to introduce himself to her boyfriend; A tall Asian man with the korean alphabet in dark black text on his white shirt. Much like 2D, he was also in his underwear. The man himself seemed to be basking in an obvious afterglow while resting on Siren's sofa. This was made all the more obvious by the salty chips he was eating to replenish himself. Siren, the man's girlfriend, rolled her eyes when he refused to shake 2D's outstretching hand. 2D didn't mind all that much. This was the first time in a while that somebody didn't show their distaste for him with physical violence and threats to make good on. Instead, 2D was made to watch the boyfriend and Siren as they kissed each other in an embrace that the singer had ever seen very rarely. It was an intimate exchange between true lovers.

Siren soon left upstairs to shower away the hidden-seed of her lover. The man himself immediately scooted over on the sofa and patted the space next to him.

"You're obviously not here to sex up my girl. You can sit if you want."

The guy's voice was lax and his eyes were half-lidded. They were green and and were trained on the stairway. He was waiting patiently for the return of his lover.

"I got a call from an ex-girlfriend and I thought"-

2D didn't want to finish the sentence. It hung in his mouth. He'd been made painfully aware that Siren was in a happy relationship with the father of her child. He now doubted she could know what to say to help him.

"Just check the voicemail, yeah? It'll give you closure. Even if you don't call back. You look like a guy who needs that kind of thing, mate. The cluse, I mean."

Siren's boyfriend spoke without looking at 2D at all. He was still only interested in the staircase. 2D found himself in observation of this man while he contemplated the advice.

"Stop staring. It's freaking me out."

The guy warned him. 2D felt just then staring at the dirt under his nails was a better use of his time than getting on this guy's nerves.

"Name's Han. You got a name I can call you?"

2D tells him his usual name. Stu. Just Stu.

"I'm going to level with you Stu. I know my girl is used to seeing naked men for her job and all. But, maybe not make showing up here half naked a habit. Yeah?"

Han had a lazy way of saying it, but the words dripped protection and concern from his lips as he spoke. This was Han's attempt at intimidation. 2D was very used to being intimidated and so he knew when someone was trying to do it. However, in this case, Han's tactic had a very different effect on the singer. Instead, he felt admiration for Han for the love he possessed over Siren. It made him want to be a better father himself. Maybe find someway later to pay back all the child support. Maybe.

Regardless of that, thanks to Han, he knew what to do about Paula Cracker's call. He swept the phone clutched in his hand up to his face and deleted the voicemail. He didn't even listen to it. Han was definitely right. 2D needed closure. However, 2D was determined to get it on his own terms. There was so much more of it, that closure, than Paula Cracker would ever be able to give him.


	3. The Talk

**A/N: I don't own the Gorillaz. Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett do.**

4:00 a.m in the morning is not the usual time for a person to have any type of an important conversation. However, as 2D was knocking on Noodle's bedroom door at this time for that reason, it could be said he was definitely not a typical person. No, the singer definitely wasn't. The young guitarist was slow to answer the door. Her groggy green eyes met empty black sockets. Her only greeting to him was a grunt. She was going to shut the door in his face when 2D placed his leg in the way. The singer let out a yelp. He wasn't wearing shoes and the wood of the door stung on his skin.

"Just listen to me for a second, Noodle. I know what happened. I know it was mine. I know you got rid of it. Yeah? That's why we're here isn't it? In this house again luv?"

2D was about to ask her more about it. Tell her what little he knew about why she was mad. He wanted to ask about the things he didn't know. But, Noodle said nothing. She just stood there staring at him. 2D dropped to his knees. One drunken mistake had lead to this and it was all his fault.

"That's not what happened."

Noodle's words were curt, but she was speaking to him. She told him of what happened that night after the shoot several months ago. She told him about a man with blue hair. A man who wasn't him. About how Murdoc and Russel wanted to avoid a scandal. About how coming to the this old flat was more than just a vacation after finishing up the album. This place was good for when people wanted a low profile. Right then, Noodle wanted a low profile. They'd all agreed not to talk to 2D about it. They were worried he would make a scene over it. As 2D stayed on his knees, staring up at Noodle; He couldn't help but agree.

After that, she didn't say anything. She didn't say anything at all. She just gently shut her door on 2D as he stayed himself on the ground. Just trying to take it all in. Something had happened to his bandmate. Something awful. He'd been so engrossed in himself that he hadn't even stopped to think of his mates. Something inside him that made him feel so big shrunk down so small. He was coming down from a false high. It was like he was a helium balloon someone had poked a hole in.

From here, he could do nothing but slide over to Noodle's door and sit his back against it. He attempted to think. This was a difficult task for the singer in many ways, but he was determined to do it at this moment. He bummed a cigarette from a pack he found laying near him on the dirty floor and made quick work of lighting it up.

"I met this amazing woman earlier Noodle. She's our neighbor, luv. You'd like her. Can't say I'm interested like the way you'd expect. Besides, she's got a real protective fella keeping her and her baby safe from anybody bad. That guy, her boyfriend, he gave me some advice."

2D stopped here to drag a puff of smoke out from the ashes of his puffed cigarette. He admired the hazy swirl. Of course he would cough once, but then just keep puffing away as his story continued.

"I got a voicemail from Paula. You don't know her. You don't want to either, luv. She's an ex-bird of mine from the early days of the band. Before we got ourselves on the map. Anyways, this guy I told you about. Well, he said I ought to answer them. I'd get closure if I did. But, I didn't listen. I deleted the voicemails instead. Putting her behind me. Moving forward, luv. That's the kind of closure I needed. I just, I want to help, with you getting yours too love."

2D smashed the butt of his cigarette into the floorboard just as the door opened again. He wasn't ready for the slow opening. His back hit the floor of her room and he stared up at her again that night. He let out a final breath of smoke from his lips. They had a lot to talk about.

 **A/N: I don't know. I'm a little concerned that 2D might've seemed a bit out of character this chapter. But I tried to keep with his character as much as possible. Sorry if that slipped a little. A contemplative 2D was definitely something to..well...contemplate.**


	4. Phone Numbers

**A/N: Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett own the Gorillaz.**

A pleasant month had passed by for 2D and his bandmates. Their holiday was soon to be over and 2D himself was excited to get to work on another album. For now, 2D spent his gays hiding from Murdoc by spending time in Siren's home and learning more about her and her boyfriend. As a result, 2D found himself learning more than he ever knew he wanted to know about the porn industry. If he'd learned anything at all, it was that Siren was one of those people who brought their work home with them. That is to say that 2D had learned more about swelling genitalia than he'd care to admit to if it ever came up in an interview.

2D was more interested in the swelling going on with Siren's stomach. Every day, it seemed like it was getting just a little bigger. She and her boyfriend even let him sometimes touch her stomach whenever the baby started kicking. He'd show off a goofy smile and make baby-noises whenever he felt something bump against his palm. Other the times, if the baby was being shy, he would jiggle the belly. It felt like a water-balloon in his hand.

Over the course of the month, Siren's loving boyfriend had made it especially clear through long silences and overt shows of affection towards Siren that he did not much care for 2D. The singer really didn't mind that all that much. In fact, he was happy to see a man love a woman so unconditionally since it was such a far cry from what he'd been used to in the past. Noodle's one night stand was a particular example he disdainfully had in mind. The singer was especially happy that this distaste towards him wasn't violent in nature. He thought back to Murdoc's anger towards him all the time. He much preferred this man over his bandmate.

Currently, that very man was helping Siren to take pictures of her porch outside her home. He followed her directions with ease while he stood and crouched in various places of the yard. 2D himself had started out earlier in the day as the one who was helping with the photography, but he couldn't hold the camera still enough to keep it from being a blurry shot.

Despite having the camera taken away from him, he was still happy to watch as the pair communicated so positively with each other. If one disagreed, it didn't devolve into some kind of miniature war. They were both cast in such a positive light to him. These two future parents practically glowed to him. Why shouldn't they? They were a happy couple expecting a child.

It did make him a little sad knowing he wouldn't be around when Siren finally gave birth. He would've liked to see that moment they became parents for himself. That's what made this day so nerve wracking for him. He wanted to ask the pair for their phone numbers so that he could keep in contact with them. 2D wasn't sure they were all close enough for that. He'd never been on this end when it came to phone numbers. He wondered how the fans he never called back felt. The singer was sure they must've felt similar. Currently, as 2D watched the couple take photos, he was trying to think of a way to ask them without it sounding like he had any romantic intentions.

"Can I have your number, love?"

He blurted out as soon as Siren placed the camera in his hands that evening; a sign she was done with photography for the day. Her boyfriend raised an eyebrow at him and just shook his head.

"Well, not really just your number I mean. Really, if it's okay, I'd like to keep in touch with the both of you after holiday. I want to check on the baby and the like if It's okay."

2D was sure he sounded desperate. He felt so small asking so much for something so mundane. Eventually, Siren just walked over to him and held out her hand. She asked for his phone. 2D was stunned and obligingly handed the little pink thing over to her. In a matter of moments, her contact information was among the others in his list. Her boyfriend took the phone from her and added in his contact information after she did.

2D couldn't believe how well this was going. He felt a blush creep up his cheeks at how nervous he'd been over something like this. Really, it was just a trivial thing for them to add their contacts. 2D lowered his head to hide how much he was both embarrassed and happy. Then again, happiness for 2D wasn't something that ever lasted long.

He heard Murdoc shouting a string of obscenities at him before turning around only to have his face meet the business end of a red stiletto in the bassist's right hand. The vile green man was yelling something about 2D not cleaning the floor like he had supposed to. The singer vaguely remembered not doing that. He was going to earlier in the day, but had forgotten to. 2D knew better to tell Murdoc anything. It was best to just wait it out and put some ointment on later. He didn't even flinch this time when he felt Murdoc's greasy nails dig into his neck as he wrapped his hand around it.

The feeling didn't stay as long as it usually did. Murdoc's hand was ripped away by the young asian man. Siren's boyfriend looked infuriated. The bassist had shoved Siren to the ground to get to him. Siren was holding her belly as she tried to get up. The singer watched as her boyfriend ripped the shoe from Murdoc and threw it far away from anyone. 2D was freaking out. He didn't know what to do. He grabbed Siren by the arm and just ran towards his place. Russel would know what to do.


End file.
